I’m studying in Acts 8 about the early church being persecuted and scattered. History has a way of repeating itself but somehow we seem to not learn the lessons of the past. I remember one time putting an office chair together. It was a struggle because the screw holes didn’t line up. I was able to get three out of four screws secured but the fourth one just wouldn’t fit.

When things don’t line up, we don’t have a chance for success. It’s the same with a direction of a nation. If the plan for the future doesn’t fit with what God wants, it’s not going to work. In the post “Petition for Strong Leadership”, I wrote about the need for nations to have leaders who build the future as “One Nation Under God”.

As individuals and as a nation, the plan for the future has to line up with what God has laid out. It is only when it does that we are assured of positive results. So, this day, share with others God’s Plan for Us.

Pass this on to others:

Like this:

LikeLoading...

About Mark Shields

Mark volunteers as a member of the media ministry team at his church. A few years ago, he started an on-line Bible study guide called “This Day with God Devotional”. He uses this as a tool in his journey through the Bible. We live in a very busy world with busy schedules so this tool has helped him continue with daily Bible reading and study. Each of the studies are designed to help apply our faith in the work place, at school, or at home. Join him on this journey or check in every so often to read his thoughts.

3 Responses to Seeking to Win More Souls for God

“…. the plan for the future has to line up with what God has laid out.”

Acts 8:14
“When the apostles in Jerusalem heard that Samaria had accepted the word of God, they sent Peter and John to them.”

Who where ” the apostles in Jerusalem “?
The 12 true apostles. The 11 appointed by Jesus, the “men of Galilee” [Acts 1:11], plus Matthias the 12th. (Paul the Pharisee was not even converted yet.)

What was “the word of God” referred to here?
In Luke’s first sentence in Acts, Luke refers to Jesus” giving instructions through the Holy Spirit to the apostles he had chosen.” [Acts 1:2] That means the 11, who were present at the Last Supper, and were present when Jesus commissioned them in the closing chapter of Gospel of Matthew.

So the “the word of God” hear means the word of our Lord God Jesus, given through the 11 Apostles He chose. (Jesus taught the Law and the Prophets too, and frequently quoted them, so this is also the word of God.) Two of these appointed Apostles wrote the words of Jesus for us in their Gospels, Matthew & John, and a third, Peter, also wrote 2 helpful letters.

“the word of God” in Acts 8:14 is NOT Paul’s letters, or “The Bible” or “All Scripture”

Amen.
And if we are “Seeking to win more souls for God,” we could look at the good example provided by two eyewitnesses of the entire ministry of Jesus, namely the Apostles Peter and John in:
Acts 8:25
“When they had testified and proclaimed the word of the Lord, Peter and John returned to Jerusalem, preaching the gospel in many Samaritan villages.”

They were not doing “Evangelism Explosion” quoting parts of Paul’s letter to the Romans to lead people down the “Roman Road.” (Paul was still an unbeliever at that time.) They were not quoting “The Four Spiritual Laws.” But they were “preaching the Gospel” to Samaritans, and Gentiles were being converted, like the Ethiopian, and the Roman Cornelius, and the church was growing, expanding, and spreading, without any help from Paul the Pharisee or his letters. So Paul is, at best, unnecessary, in order to be “preaching the gospel.”